Fate, Not Luck
by saymynamesam
Summary: Junior year is over and the summer break is underway. When Sam finds out his family might move back to Tennessee, Quinn takes it a lot harder than he ever would have thought.  Co-authored by Lor Menari /u/1553676/


Sam had just gotten back to the motel from work. It was one of those days that his mom was home with the kids so he didn't have to call Quinn to babysit. He was kind of glad about that. Sam wasn't ready to face her, especially since he was keeping his relationship with Mercedes a secret. He knew Quinn wouldn't like the secrecy. Sure, she kept his secret about being poor, but it was a completely different thing. This was something he normally wouldn't want to keep from everyone, but agreed because that was what Mercedes wanted.

The boy walked into the motel room and smiled at his sleeping siblings. They looked so innocent and he felt saddened by how much they had to face at such an early age. He had given up telling them that this was an adventure. Stevie was starting to understand that them living in a shitty motel room was not a quest to kill the dragon. The blond hated that the littles had to know about poverty and grief at their ages, but that was the hand that fate dealt them and he had to live with it.

"Sam, come here please. We have something to talk to you about," his mom said.

Sam looked up and noticed his dad as there as well. His eyebrows raised and he nodded his head. He made his way over to the small table in the room and he took a seat in the chair. His dad was across from him and his mom was standing behind his dad. They looked serious and Sam panicked. What else could possibly go wrong? He was paying the rent, so they were not getting kicked out. _Oh, God. Are one of the kids sick? Did someone die? _His mind ran wild with worst case scenarios.

"Your mother and I wanted to tell you something. It's a little early but, we figured you should know now so it won't surprise you if it happens."

The blond nodded his head, urging them to go on. He was clearly confused and he needed them to make it very clear what they were talking about. Sam knew he was a little slow but so did they. He kept looking at them, hoping they would continue.

"Look, Sam..." his dad sighed a little, "we might have to move back. To Tennessee. To live with your grandparents just until we can get back on our feet. You would be in a public school there. And play football and you wouldn't have to work. And if you still wanted to sing, I'm sure there are clubs there for that. You would graduate in your home state, Sam."

Sam started shaking his head a little, muttering the word 'no' as he did. This was too much. It was hard enough moving to Ohio after his sophomore year of high school, but making him move to Tennessee for senior year? That was insane.

"Sam, son, it'll be alright. The kids need out of here," his mom said as she crossed the room to put her hand on his back.

He knew she was right. His siblings shouldn't be in the motel room. They should be in a house with a yard and toys to play with. He knew this, but it didn't mean he wasn't a little resentful. His dad had promised him that he could graduate here. That he could make a life in Ohio and not have to worry. And he knew that it wasn't his dad's fault that his job was lost, but that part of Sam, the part that was still a seventeen year old boy, wanted to yell and scream. But he didn't.

"Okay. Look...I've...I've got to get out of here. Need air."

Sam got up from the chair and took the car keys in his hand. He needed to talk to someone, anyone, and he didn't know who to go to. He racked his brain. Mercedes was out of the question. She had some church thing tomorrow and she had to be asleep early for it. Puck wouldn't understand and Artie was out of town this week. He still didn't trust Finn enough to talk to about this stuff. Out of his friends, that left Kurt, Rachel and Quinn.

Sam got in the car and let his heart lead him. He knew that if he just drove he would end up in the place he needed to be.

And he was right. Because he ended up at Quinn's. The boy laid his head on the steering wheel and sighed. Everything always came back to her, didn't it. He knew it always would. She was his first love, the first girl he had ever really kissed and she would always be the one he would want.

He punched the steering wheel and got out of the car. He didn't know if her mom was home or not, so he grabbed some rocks and threw them at her window. He didn't know if he was ready to face her, but he was there and he had to.

The end of the school year had not been particularly kind to Quinn Fabray, and the first couple of weeks of the summer break so far hadn't fared much better for the blond pixie bobbed haired former Cheerio. Quinn had found herself with a lot more time on her hands than usual and she was already missing the distraction of school, at least in the halls of McKinley High School, she wasn't entirely alone, well, at least not physically.

Her mom was busy busy busy with work, oddly enough for all the money woes people were suffering, it wasn't hurting her mother's real estate business and Judy Fabray was working over time and then some. When she wasn't working, she was going to singles night at the church and going on dates with the local eligible 'good Christian' men of the greater Lima area. And tonight, Judy was apparently having a 'sleep over' date, 'good Christian'... yeah, right.

So once again, Quinn was left home alone in the big empty house with no luck in finding anyone to come over and spend the night. She'd thought maybe she could get Santana and Britts over, but they were having their own 'special sleep over', they seemed to be having a lot of those lately. She would have invited Mercedes, but the text from Kurt saying he'd seen her at the Lima Bean holding hands with Sam a few days earlier had left Quinn more than a little put off with her so called friend. Even though there was no confirmation, Quinn was sure that once again, Mercedes had gone after _her_ man.  
>Okay so technically Sam wasn't 'hers', but Mercedes knew when they were in New York that Quinn still had feelings for her former boyfriend and high hopes of re-igniting the flame of romance between them over the summer. Of course, her friend had told her to give it time, 'he doesn't need the added stress of having a high maintenance girlfriend' was how she'd put it, so Quinn had revised her plan and was trying to take things slow, be his friend first and foremost and if something happened it would happen naturally - and now it seemed that she'd only left the door open for Mercedes.<p>

So 'Cedes was out for company and that left Quinn out of options, cause she certainly wasn't going to be calling Sam. If he was carrying on with Mercedes and keeping it from her, she just couldn't deal with the thought, let alone possibly getting confirmation. No, just no.

And thus she found herself all by her lonesome for the night, carton of Ben and Jerry's in her hand, curled up in bed with a marathon of chick flicks streaming across her laptop screen, currently The Notebook ruining her expectations of love. If this kept up, it was definitely going to be a long summer.

The sound of the rocks hitting her window startled her, she sat up and tapped the pause button on her screen and pushed the laptop aside, flicked on the light on the bedside table and pad footed to the window, slowly drawing the curtains to see what was going on outside, her brow quirking upon finding Sam Evans standing there looking up at her from her front lawn. She quickly opened the window and leaned her head out.

"Sam... what in the world?"

Sam had thrown a couple of rocks and prayed that she would notice. She did. He looked up to see her face in the darkness. He smiled to himself. There was no one in this world like Quinn Fabray. No one could make him smile the way she could. Or laugh. And no one could break his heart the way she could either. She magnified his emotions and made them more prominent in his life.

The boy shrugged his shoulders and licked his lips slowly. He almost forgot why he was standing outside her house and throwing rocks at her window. The boy almost felt cheesy, like he was some sort of Romeo and she was Juliet. However, this visit was not one of love. He wasn't the hero she dreamed about, he was sure of that. If he had been the hero, she would have never cheated. No, someone else was her Romeo and he was forever...that other dude in the play. He never could remember his name. The teachers were lucky enough that he remembered Romeo and Juliet.

"I need to talk to you, Quinn," was all he said.

He waited for her to say or do something. Anything. He needed a friend, his best friend, and she was it. She was it in a lot of ways. He knew she would be rational about his problems. It wasn't like they were dating and she would be devastated. Sure, she might miss him, but the boy was confident that she would get over him. Even if he would never get over her. And the girl he was dating...well, let's just say he was already over her and they were still together.

"Can I come up?"

"That depends... you gonna climb up the trellis? I mean, I'd let down my hair... but y'know... it's gone..." she teased, biting her lower lip as she watched him.

Her heart was racing in her chest and butterflies were taking flight in her tummy, her mind spinning as she tried to think of what he could possibly need to talk to her at nearly midnight.

_Maybe this is it, he wants me back. Maybe Mercedes was just being a good friend and pushing us back together. God... I'll have to thank her and apologize for avoiding her... God, look at that smile... could he be any cuter? Ugh, stop it Quinn, you're getting ahead of yourself, let it happen naturally._

Quinn quieted her inner dialogue and looked down at him expectantly. "So what's it gonna be Romeo?"

Sam rolled his eyes. Quinn always made things difficult and yet cute at the same time. It was one of the many things he loved about her. His eyebrow raised and he shook his head. The boy folded his arms across his chest.

"I hope you know I like your hair short. I mean, it was awesome long, but you can rock any hair cut," he said with a smile on his face.

And then he realized she called him Romeo. It didn't mean...nah, it couldn't. She was just thinking of how it was like the scene where Romeo talks to Juliet while she is on her balcony. That's all it was so he smiled and went with it.

"Considering I'm no Romeo, I'd prefer to use the front door. I mean, come on Q. Can you really hear me saying all that stuff he says? Something about the moon and roses or something. You've heard my epic love talk. Nothing like Romeo."

Quinn smiled and her cheeks flushed when he told her that he liked her short hair, her hand absently coming up; her fingers playing with the wispy ends of her still newly cropped do. She still wasn't used to it, and Sam had been the only one that seemed to take notice of the dramatic change, or at least the only one to verbally acknowledge it. She was glad he liked it, she didn't care what anyone else thought, if Sam liked it, it worked for her. "Thanks..." she responded, smiling widely.

"Awww, Sammy... maybe you can't spout out a bunch of flowery phrases in early modern english, but I bet Romeo couldn't take Beiber and make it sexy... sooo... you might actually have one up on him... just saying." she responded flirtatiously, clearly on a different wavelength than Sam. The thought that he was here to make a play to be her boyfriend again still very much her main forethought. "But fiiiine... I'll be right down... wouldn't want you to fall and break your neck anyhow... be down in two shakes..." she promised, giving him another little smile before moving back and sliding the window shut, closing the blinds before skittering off down the stairs to let her Prince Charming in. She quickly deactivated the home security system and moved to open the front door, leaning against the heavy wood door, looking up at him adoringly. "Hi, Sam..."

The blond shrugged at her mention of him doing Bieber. He had been made very much aware of the fact that Quinn found it sexy. However, he really didn't feel like remembering that specific time. Sam remembered Santana telling him that Quinn cheated and it was like his whole world came crashing down. He really thought he was going to end up with her. He believed that promise ring actually meant something to her. It had to him. It meant that he would be faithful and an amazing boyfriend. Maybe he just wasn't good enough.

Sam smiled at her and made his way to the front door. He thought about the way Quinn was acting. It was almost like she was back to the way she acted when they first dated. He loved it. And he wished she could just be his again. However, when he talked to Mercedes about it, she informed him that Quinn was over him and still very much heartbroken over Finn and that he needed to move on. So he did. It wasn't like she was going to be this epic love of his life. Mercedes would just be a passing ship in the night, someone he could talk to but not fall in love with. His heart only had room for one person like that and she was behind the door.

And said person was now opening the door and his heart picked up speed for a tiny moment when he noticed the way she was smiling at him. He didn't get it. Was she going to try and use him to get back with Finn? He was confused so he pushed it aside an focused on the task at hand. His possible move.

"Hey, Quinn. Can I come in?" he asked, innocently.

"But of course..." Quinn nodded and signaled him to enter with a silly hand gesture as she stepped back and opened the door wider. Once he'd stepped inside, she closed and locked the door, and moved over to reactivate the alarm system before turning to look back at Sam.

She was completely oblivious to the real reason he'd shown up on her lawn so late at night, she had herself totally convinced that things between them were finally going to be okay again. That they could and _would_ get back what they had before she let her heart stray with Finn. Biggest mistake she'd made in her life and that was saying something, cause obviously, Quinn Fabray had made some real doozies. The last thing on her mind was using Sam for anything having to do with Finn Hudson, she didn't want to use him at all, she only wanted to be with him again, like they used to be.

"So..." she looked up at him again, her eyelashes fluttering just so before her eyes met his as she licked her lips. "What was it you wanted to talk about, Sam?" she asked, cocking her head just so, again looking at him rather expectantly.

The boy stepped in the house and waited for her to set the alarm. He played with his hair a little and bit his lip. This was going to be hard especially since she was in such a good mood. He hated killing her buzz, but he needed to talk to a friend and Quinn was the one he wanted to talk to. He always wanted to talk to her.

"We may need to sit down for this. I am probably going to get emotional."

He shrugged his shoulders and took her by the wrist, leading her to the couch in the family room. He sat down and waited for her to join him. He honestly wanted to take her hand in his, but he hesitated. It wasn't fair to either of them. Quinn didn't like him and he was suffering through a girlfriend who hated Bieber, Avatar and impersonations.

"Okay, so you know how my family has been having hard times? Of course you know, you've been like a freaking angel. But...so I got home from work today...sorry if I smell like pizza. I didn't have time to shower, I just had to go. Okay so my dad and mom said we might be moving back to Tennessee to live with my grandparents. I don't want to go back. I love it there, but this is my home now. I just...I don't want to leave, Quinn."

She nodded slowly when he told her they should probably sit down and that he'd probably get emotional. Quinn wasn't entirely sure how to take that, but she was oddly optimistic and wanted to believe that this visit was all about reconciliation. She wanted that more than anything and if that meant a little painful dredging up of the past and apologizing for her actions with Finn, well, she would do that, she'd do anything to be with Sam again.

The moment he shrugged at her and gripped her wrist rather than slip his hand into hers the energy suddenly changed, and even before they took their seats on the couch, all that excess optimism seemed to be fading away rather fast and Quinn was starting to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of her tummy where just a moment ago happy little butterflies fluttered. Why wasn't he holding her hand? Had she read the whole reason for his visit wrong? Didn't throwing pebbles at a girl's window a gesture of a romantic nature?

Quinn plunked herself down beside him, biting her lower lip. Her eyes flicked down to his hand still holding her wrist and wondered again why he wasn't holding her hand and if it would be inappropriate for her to slip her own into his, and then he spoke up and for a moment, Quinn couldn't even think at all.

"No." she breathed, her facial expression changing from cautiously optimistic and hopeful to a rather pained expression in an instant. "You... can't... no..." she blurted, her eyes flicking up to met his. "Sam... no..."  
>Sam hated the way her face changed in the instant. She had looked so much like the old Quinn, the one he had first met before but now her pretty face became overcome with grief. He hated that he did that to her. That his situation could make her hurt so much. It wasn't like he wanted to hurt her. He just needed someone to talk to. Maybe coming to her was a bad idea. Maybe he should have gone to someone he wasn't exactly that close to. Like Tina. But, he was here now, so he had to deal with it.<p>

The boy sighed and ran a finger through his shaggy blond hair. He knew he needed a haircut, but he couldn't afford one. How could he when he was giving all his money to his parents to keep them in a motel room.

"Quinn...it's not set in stone yet."

The boy closed his eyes, hoping to keep the tears from leaking out. Her getting upset always made him upset. He remembered the look on her face when he broke up with her. It was so pained and it took all he had to walk away from her that day. He had gone home after glee club and wallowed, never letting her face leave his mind.

"But it might happen. I don't want to, Quinn. I'll miss all my friends so much. I'll miss Kurt always trying to make me more fashionable. I'll miss Rachel and her obnoxious ways. I'll miss Brittany's innocence and Mike's moves. I'll miss Artie and Puck as well."

The boy chuckled a little. Everyone in glee club made him feel special after they learned about his family, even if they made him feel like a douche before.

"I'll even miss Finn. He was my first best friend at Lima. And I was hoping we could get back to that this coming year."

Sam turned and looked her in the eyes. He put his hand in hers and rubbed the top of hers with the pad of his thumb.

"But I'll miss you most of all, Quinn Fabray."

Quinn felt her heart drop, what was happening was so far from what she'd been expecting upon those rocks tapping against her window just a few short minutes ago, minutes that now felt like a lifetime ago with the news he'd given her. Her eyes glossed over and she tried to blink back the tears that had been forming behind her hazel orbs, her gaze dropping from his eyes to their hands, her lower lip quivering before she bit it to stop it.

"I love you, Sam..." she blurted, her eyes flicking back up to meet his, the tears now falling freely as she pulled her hands away from his and brought them up to grip his face, launching herself at him, lips colliding with his in a desperate kiss, hoping to convey everything that she was feeling yet couldn't articulate into that kiss.  
>Sam watched her every movement, trying to decipher the mystery that was Quinn Fabray. He could tell she wanted to cry. Hell, he wanted to cry. This was too much news and he suddenly regretted coming to her. He knew he shouldn't have put that kind of pressure on her. Sam knew that he should have gone to someone who was stronger. Quinn liked to portray that she was tough and unbeatable, but Sam knew that it was all an act. And that's why he should have gone to someone like...well, anyone but her. However, his heart won the matter and he was in front of the only girl he ever loved.<p>

And just like that, she told him she loved him and her lips were on his. Sam panicked. He felt scared because he wanted to kiss her back more than anything. This couldn't be happening. Mercedes told him she didn't love him anymore, that she had moved on. So why was Quinn doing this? He remained stoic and pushed her away. As much as he wanted to push her on the bed and have his way with her, he couldn't. He was in a relationship. Granted, he would break up with her tomorrow, but still tonight he was in one.

"Quinn...I can't do this. I'm dating Mercedes."

Quinn felt Sam's body stiffen and then it happened, he not only didn't kiss her back, but he pushed her away and that rejection hit her harder than any previous rejection had. There she was, walls down, putting her heart in his hands, only to have him throw it back at her like it was a hot potato and he'd been burned with a split second touch. As if that wasn't painful enough, it only got worse when he informed her that he was, in fact, dating Mercedes.

She pushed herself away from him and into the corner of the couch, bringing her knees up to her chest, a pained whimper of a noise emanating from the back of her throat. It really was over, he didn't love her anymore, he belonged to someone else and soon he'd just be gone from her life completely.

"I'm so stupid..." she shook her head, letting out a slightly hysterical sort of a laugh. "Of course you are... wow... just... you and my 'friend' Mercedes... my good good friends... well, guess that explains why she told me in New York to give you time... you didn't need the added pressure of a high maintenance girlfriend... and all along... I'm such an idiot... I keep forgetting I don't have any real friends..." she rolled her eyes, biting down hard on her lower lip, angrily wiping away the tears that wouldn't stop in spite of her desire for them to do so.

"Maybe you should have just gone to your girlfriend for comfort... instead of playing Romeo throwing pebbles... I'm sure your fair Juliet would take issue with that..." she told him pointedly, her eyes flicking to his for only a moment, hurt, anger and rejection reflecting from them before she looked away again. "You should probably go..."

Sam watched as she moved away from him. He felt horrible. Sam didn't know why he felt the need to tell her about Mercedes. He was going to break up with her tomorrow after all. She could have gone that long without knowing. But he would have had to make up another excuse not to kiss her. Because no matter what, he wasn't going to drag her along into a relationship when he could be moving. It wasn't fair and it wasn't cool. He didn't want her to close her heart to someone who could potentially be everything he couldn't. As much as it hurt him and as much as he was still very much in love with her, he knew he couldn't be what she needed. He knew with his family's current situation, he couldn't have Quinn for a girlfriend. When he was with Quinn, he wanted to buy her things and take care of her. With Mercedes, well, he just didn't feel those things.

"You're not stupid, Quinn...far from it," he said.

Sam didn't know what to say to her or how to say it. He wanted to tell her he was in love with her and that he wished they could go back, but it was a silly dream. It would never happen and he needed to just deal with the fact. His eyes widened in surprise. Mercedes told her that? But she told him...he shook it off. It was behind them now. He saw her tears and he wanted to reach and wipe them for her, but he didn't. He knew she would pull away from him even more.

"I didn't want to go to her. I wanted...I wanted to tell my best friend. You'll always be my best friend, Quinn. Nothing can change that. And I'm not Romeo...if I was, well she wouldn't be my Juliet. I wouldn't die for her."

Sam looked down at his hands and sighed. If she wanted him to go he would. He would get up and walk out the door, even if his heart would stay behind with her. _If I move, I'll leave my heart in Ohio._

"I'll leave if you really want me to. I...I know you say you love me. But...you'll love again. You have so much love in your heart, Quinn. You'll forget all about me one day. And I'll be just another boy you went to school with."

Sam got up from the couch and leaned over and kissed her forehead. He closed his heyes as he put his lips to her ear.

"Kìyevame yawne," he whispered in his ear.

And just like that, he walked out the door.


End file.
